Candy was sitting on a bench holding a sheet of paper, so absorbed by her gloomy thoughts that she didn't notice it was already time for lunch.
The car's wheels rustled, and the girl lifted her head.
Neil! He shouldn't know anything. Out of habit, the girl stroked her face, as if removing the anxiety and summoning a peaceful smile.
He was walking towards her, so handsome, self-confident and elegant. Candy smiled wider.
"Hello!"
Neil sat down beside her, and his presence made Candy feel dizzy.
"Hey, what happened?" the man asked right off the bat, and Candy got confused.
"What? No, nothing, everything's good…" she murmured, trying to give him a smile with her trembling lips under his gaze.
How did he figure it out?
Neil took the sheet from her hands.
"Taking a vacation?"
"Yeah, for a week. I want to visit Pony's Home."
"I'll give you a ride."
"No, there's no need, I…"
Neil laughed, patting her on her hair, like a little girl.
"Yeah, I know it's way more romantic to go on your own, catching pony-carts and wagons, but just for once, have some comfort."
Miss White smiled back at him.
"Thanks, but if it bothers you…"
"It doesn't. So what happened?"
He held her by the shoulders, and she wanted so much to tell him everything, complain and, after all, share her problems with him. But what was wrong with her? She had never behaved like this. She had never been weak.
"Nothing happened."
"Stop lying to me!"
Her will got weaker under his unwinking gaze.
"You imagined it! I'm just tired and want to go on a vacation, that's it!"
"How much do you need?" he asked simply.
"Need what?" Candy fluttered her eyelashes.
"Well, money."
"How do you know…" the girl got surprised, but then, having seen his understanding look, realized he just took a random shot, and she had given herself away. Totally.
"Neil, I'm not taking money from you, no way! Don't even think of it!" she protected heartedly. "I'll make it on my own. I want to make it on my own. I don't want to be paid for."
The girl felt Neil wasn't listening to her and almost cried at him.
"I really, really don't need anything! I… I won't talk to you, I'll take offense if you offer me money! It's humiliating! I…"
"What's so wrong if I give some money to my lovely girlfriend?"
He said it like it was nothing, a trifle… Miss White took a deep breath.
"I want… to be self-consistent. Strong."
"Why?"
When he raised his eyebrows like this and smiled, she wanted to punch him first, and then laugh.
There was a silence.
"I don't want… to owe you."
"Why?" Neil inquired.
"Well… if I can't return you the money… If we… happen to get a quarrel… and…"
"And I try to take revenge using the fact that you owe me?"
Candy looked into Legan's eyes and saw he was barely controlling his anger.
"You think I can do that? I?!"
"But he could send the bill to Pony's Home, he had already done it before…" the girl thought, afraid to say such accusations aloud. But Neil seemed to have read her mind.
"Listen, Candy, your mistrust insults me," he said with a tone that would not accept any objections.
"But I… I can't help it, because you…"
He sighed.
"Well, then try to help it! I think we have settled the matter."
"No, we haven't!" miss White resented. "We haven't settled anything at all!"
"Well then let's do it!"
Neil leaned back to the bench, and under his appraising gaze Candy felt that it was not him who was making excuses, but her who was worrying over trifles.
"You know pretty well that you acted like a total…"
Neil raised his eyebrows.
"…well… not so good."
He averted his gaze, as if he couldn't look her in the eyes.
"Yes, I admit that," he said in a low tone. "But what does it have to do with now?"
The girl didn't answer, a bit bewildered by his question. For some reason, his self-confidence started to take its effect on her, too.
"But what if… then… you suddenly treat me bad again?"
Legan laughed out, as if she had said something ridiculous.
"Candy, it's in the past. Leave the past in the past. I know it's hard to believe that, if yesterday was a thunderstorm, and today it's sunny, it won't be thunderstorm again, but why live in fear of everything? Aren't you able or willing to trust me now? I know, you want me to prove my feelings to you. But I can't – either I have them or not, either you believe me or not. And I really want you to believe me, my little inquisitor…"
He took her hands and started kissing her fingers.
"Stop it!" Candy blushed and tried to take away her hands, attacked by his lips.
"And how much money has my little inquisitor spent on me?"
"Me? On you?! No, please!"
Neil laughed again, and the girl blushed even more. How did he find out? Where?
The man was still holding her hands, and his fingers were pleasantly warm.
"I'm really touched, Candy," he said seriously.